About the Amazon | WWF About the Amazon Special Topics Inside the Amazon Spanning 6.7 million km2 (twice the size of India) the Amazon Biome is virtually unrivalled in scale, complexity and opportunity, and truly is a region distinguished by superlatives. Not only does the Amazon encompass the single largest remaining tropical rainforest in the world, it also houses at least 10% of the world’s known biodiversity, including endemic and endangered flora and fauna, and its river accounts for 15-16% of the world’s total river discharge into the oceans. The Amazon River flows for more than 6,600 km, and with its hundreds of tributaries and streams contains the largest number of freshwater fish species in the world. Natural and cultural diversity Equally impressive are the unfathomable numbers of mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles4 found across the biome. The Amazon is home to more than 30 million people living across a vast region subdivided into nine different national political systems.

According to the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), about 9% (2.7 million) of the Amazon’s population is still made up of indigenous people – 350 different ethnic groups, more than 60 of which still remain largely isolated. And yet, for all of its magnitude and apparent remoteness, the Amazon Biome is surprisingly fragile and close to each one of us. Jeopardizing a pillar of life on Earth During the last half century, the seemingly endless Amazon has lost at least 17% of its forest cover, its connectivity has been increasingly disrupted, and numerous endemic species have been subjected to waves of resource exploitation. The economic transformation of the Amazon based on the conversion and degradation of its natural habitat is gaining momentum. Yet, as those forces grow in strength, we are also finding that the Amazon plays a critical role in maintaining climate function regionally and globally, a contribution which everyone–rich or poor–depends on. The Amazon’s canopy cover helps regulate temperature and humidity, and is intricately linked to regional climate patterns through hydrological cycles that depend on the forests.

Given the enormous amount of carbon stored in the forests of the Amazon, there is tremendous potential to alter global climate if not properly stewarded. The Amazon contains 90-140 billion metric tons of carbon, the release of even a portion of which would accelerate global warming significantly. Currently, land conversion and deforestation in the Amazon release up to 0.5 billion metric tons of carbon per year, not including emissions from forest fires, thus rendering the Amazon an important factor in regulating global climate (Nepstad et al 2008). Quick facts The Amazon biome is 2 times the size of India The Amazon river is over 6600 km long It harbors 10% of the world´s known species It is home to 350 ethnic groups 17% of the forest cover has been lost in the last 50 years Ranitomeya benedicta, new poison frog species © Evan Twomey Amazing discoveries: 1200 new species found in the Amazon Between 1999 and 2009, 1200 species of plants and vertebrates were identified for the first time.

Ranging from a coin sized pnk rigned frog to a 4 meter long anaconda, the findings confirm the Amazon as one the most biodiverse places on Earth. State of the Amazon: Ecological Representation in Protected Areas and Indigenous Territories Amazon Basin and Amazon Biome The Amazon Biome, is defined as the area covered predominantly by dense moist tropical forest, with relatively small inclusions of several other types of vegetation such as savannas, floodplain forests, grasslands, swamps, bamboos, and palm forests. The biome encompasses 6.7 million km2 and is shared by eight countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname), as well as the overseas territory of French Guiana. The complete watersheds expand beyond the biome and sometimes include adjacent biomes (dry forest, cerrado and puna). Not just green wilderness So is the Amazon River Basin merely a huge, uniform expanse of rainforest, bisected by a massive river? Such a perception of the area merely scratches the surface of what is in reality a highly complex and dynamic environment. The basin actually encompasses a variety of landscapes and ecosystems .

These include: Rivers How the Earth's movements created today's Amazon River Basin Millions of years ago, the Amazon River once flowed from east to west, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. When the Andes Mountains began to rise (due to great pressure on the tectonic plates) along the eastern side of the South American continent about 20 million years ago 6 , this emerging mass blocked the flow of the Amazon River. Freshwater lakes formed as a result, and the flow of the river gradually reversed to its current eastern course. About 10 million years ago, the river reached the Atlantic Ocean, close to the city of Belem in Brazil. 7 The water cycle: a highly efficient natural process Every year, the Amazon rainforest receives torrential rainfall - between 1,500 mm and 3,000 mm . 9 Where does all that water come from? Eastern trade winds that blow from the Atlantic Ocean account for about half of the rainfall, with the other half due to evapotranspiration - the loss of water from the soil by evaporation and through transpiration from plants 10 - in the Amazon River Basin.

11 If evapotranspiration and its role in maintaining ecological balance is disrupted, the climate throughout region - and well beyond - will be significantly impacted. HydroSHED of the Amazon - high-resolution elevation data used to create a global hydrological database. Click to enlarge. © WWF, U.S. Geological Survey, ICTA, TNC, University of Kassel What it's like to be in the Amazon River Basin Humid and warm, the region has all the typical attributes of a tropical environment. Temperatures usually average 27.9 °C during the dry season, and 25.8 °C during the rainy season. Relative humidity is quite high at an average of 88% in the rainy season and 77% in the dry season. 8 Giant otter, Rewa River, Guyana © naturepl.com / Pete Oxford / WWF The unpredictability of an Amazon downpour In the Amazon River Basin, rainfall follows a seasonal pattern, and there is a great difference in precipitation from one place to the other, even within the centre of the basin.

12 For example, the city of Iquitos in Peru, along the Amazon River , receives an average of 2,623 mm of rain per year, while Manaus in Brazil, receives 1,771 mm and experiences a strong dry season. 13 The Amazon between aspirations and reality As our knowledge of the Amazon constantly increases, so does our understanding of the major ecological services rainforests offer to the local and global community. While many equate a patch of rainforest with quick rewards - some simply to put food on the table - others see it as a repository of biodiversity , useful chemical compounds or even carbon stocks for the world’s increasing carbon dioxide emissions. Get to know The Amazon wildliife, people and rainforests function along with the rhythm of the seasons. However, with the Amazon River Basin under siege from fire and the destructive interventions of humans, this natural system is being reduced to cinder and ash in too many places. Find out more about what WWF is doing to save the Amazon . 1 Da Silva et al. 2005. The Fate of the Amazonian Areas of Endemism.

Conservation Biology 19 (3), 689-694 2 Lewinsohn T. M.and Prado P.I. 2005. How Many Species Are There in Brazil? Conservation Biology. Volume 19 (3), 619 3 Woodshole Institute. The Amazon. . Accessed 28/9/2005 4 Instituto Socioambiental. Indigenous peoples in Brazil. Accessed 7/12/2005 * Queixalos F, Renault-Lescure O., eds. 2000. The Amazonian languages today. I.R.D., I.S.A., M.P.E.G. Instituto socioambiental, Sao Paolo 5 WWF. Amazon River and Flooded Forests. Accessed 7/12/2005 Amazon Facts | Project Amazonas Project Amazonas Amazon Facts Amazon Facts Amaze (or bore) your friends and colleagues with some Amazon trivia. Who knows, it might even win you big bucks someday on a game show! The Amazon IS the world's greatest river.

The Nile of Africa may be slightly longer, depending on how you measure each river, but for many other reasons the Amazon River is the undisputed title holder - the greatest river on the planet, in the solar system, and perhaps even in the Milky Way galaxy (at least no-one from planets orbiting Betelgeuse or Antares has yet provided convincing evidence that they have a bigger river on their planet!). Read on! If size is important to you... The average discharge of water into the Atlantic Ocean by the Amazon is approximately 175,000 m3 per second, or between 1/5th and 1/6th of the total discharge into the oceans of all of the world's rivers! This discharge is 4-5 times that of the Congo River (the second largest in ocean discharge), and 10 times that of the Mississippi. The Rio Negro, a tributary of the Amazon, is the second largest river in the world in terms of water flow, and is 100 meters (over 300 feet) deep and 14 kilometers (~9 miles) wide near its mouth at Manaus, Brazil. Raindrops keep falling on my head!

Average rainfall across the whole Amazon basin is approximately 2300 mm (or ~7.5') annually. In some areas of the northwest portion of the Amazon basin, yearly rainfall can exceed 6000 mm (almost 20')! Where does all that water go? The water discharged into the Atlantic Ocean is actually only about 1/3rd of the water that falls in the Amazon basin as rain. Where does the other 2/3rds go? Up to half of the rainfall in some areas may never reach the ground, being intercepted by the forest and re-evaporated into the atmosphere. Additional evaporation occurs from ground and river surfaces, or is released into the atmosphere by transpiration from plant leaves. All of this moisture re-enters the water cycling system of the Amazon, and a given molecule of water may be "re-cycled" many times between the time that it leaves the surface of the Atlantic Ocean and is carried by the prevailing westerly winds into the Amazon basin, to the time that it is carried back to the ocean by the Amazon River.

The Andes Mountains that border the west side of the Amazon help to ensure that most of the moisture stays in the system - very little is carried by the prevailing winds over the Andes to the Pacific Ocean. A long and winding river road. The total length of the Amazon River from its source springs in the Andes (taking the Ucayali River as the continuation of the main river into the Andes), is estimated at 6518 km ( ~4075 miles) (not including all river bends, and measuring the short distance around Marajó Island in the mouth of the Amazon). This is exceeded only by the Nile River (including the Kagera River) of Africa with a total length of 6671 km (4170 miles). If you measure the long-way around Marajo Island, however, the Amazon is slightly longer than the Nile! The Amazon headwaters are located high in the Andes at an elevation of about 5,200 meters (17,000 feet), and only 190 kilometers (120 miles) from the Pacific Ocean. Like mother, like daughters....

Two of the tributaries of the Amazon, the Juruá and the Madeira Rivers, are both over 3,300 km (2,060 miles) long. About 1,100 other sizeable tributaries empty into the Amazon River. Talk about a big mouth! The mouth of the Amazon is over 320 km wide (approximately 200 miles), and contains the worlds largest freshwater island, Marajó Island, with an area of 48,000 km2 (about the size of Switzerland). Momma was not a Rolling Stone! After leaving the Andes, the elevational gradient of the Amazon is very low. Iquitos, Peru is some 3,600 km (2,250 miles) from the Atlantic, yet the river-level at low-water season is only about 100 m (a bit more than 300') above sea-level, and the slope is around 2 cm (less than one inch) vertical change per kilometer.

In the lower Amazon, at the mouth of Rio Negro and still 1,500 km from the Atlantic, the river-level at low-water season is only 15 m (~47') above sea-level, and the slope is about 1 cm per kilometer. You won't find any white-water rapids along the main channel of the Amazon, though the sheer weight of the mass of water moves it along at a surprising speed. NEWS FLASH!! Rumpelstiltskin Drowns in Slow Flood. The Amazon is not a good place to fall into a long deep sleep on the river bank! Seasonal water levels can vary up to 20 meters (65 feet) in the middle Amazon region. Towards the mouth of the Amazon, the yearly change becomes less and less, but even near the mouth of the Amazon (at the Rio Xingu), it is still 4 meters (12 feet). In the Iquitos region of Peru, the annual change in river levels is about 15 meters (~50'). Flooded but not drowned. The seasonal variation in water levels means that huge areas along the major rivers in the Amazon basin are flooded annually.

The total area of flooded, or varzea, forest is between 50-60,000 km2, or about 4% of the total area of the Amazon rainforest. These flooded forest areas may extend as much as 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the main river channels, and the forest vegetation of the varzea is well adapted to being seasonally flooded. The structure and species composition of the varzea is very different from non-flooded upland (or terra firme) forest areas. Varzea forest areas are critical to the freshwater fisheries of the Amazon Basin. Go with the flow. Despite the low slope of the Amazon, the river currents can be surprisingly strong. In the lower Amazon (with the lowest slope), current speeds range from 0.5-1.0 meters per second at low water, and twice that at flood stage. In localized areas, current speeds can reach as high as 3 meters (9.8 feet) per second. Ships on a submarine river? The width of the Amazon at Iquitos, Peru (3,600 km/2,250 miles from the ocean) is about 2 km.

Ocean-going ships can easily access the Port of Iquitos at high water, as the mean depth of the current-canal of the Amazon is between 40 and 50 m (or up to 150+ feet deep), and in places, over 100 m (over 300 feet) deep. Even hundreds of miles away from the ocean, sections of the bottom of the river channel actually lie below sea level! World's Biggest Outhouse! In the Atlantic Ocean beyond the mouth of the Amazon, and resting on the continental shelf, the Amazon sediment cone has a length of about 680 km and a width of 250 km. These fine grained deposits (mostly clay/mud particles) on the ocean floor are over 11,000 meters (36,000 feet) thick. This is mostly sediment that has been carried downriver from the Andes Mountains, the Guianan Shield (to the North) and the Brazilian Shield (to the south), by the river current, and which settled out of the water column once the river current dissipated into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. World's Biggest Washtub.

The Amazon basin (the watershed of the Amazon River) is 7,050,000 km2 in area (or about 2,500,000 miles2), and covers about 40% of South America. Of this area, approximately 5,000,000 km2 is (or was) covered by high tropical rainforest, with the remainder covered by savannah ("campo") or scrubby woodland ("cerrado"). The Amazon basin covers significant portions of the countries of Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia, though the major part of the watershed lies within Brazil. The next largest tropical watershed, that of the Congo River, at 3,690,000 km2, is only half the size of the Amazon basin. Violent Revolution Rocks South America! Although it now empties into the Atlantic Ocean, the Amazon once flowed into the Pacific! The uplift of the Andes Mountains about 65 million years ago in a geological event called the Laramide Revolution cut the flow to the Pacific, and forced the Amazon River to flow eastward.

This revolution took place when the westward-moving South American (geological or tectonic) plate crashed headlong into the eastern-moving Nazca Plate. The Nazca plate was forced beneath the South American plate, lifting up the Andes mountains in a process that continues to this day, as evidenced by the many earthquakes and high volcanic activity of the Andes region. But It's a Dry Heat... The Amazon basin has not always been an area of lush tropical rainforest. At several times during its history, the basin has been the location of huge lakes and shallow seas. Salt deposits up to 600 meters thick (nearly 2000 feet!) have also been found in some locations, indicating that at one time, the basin may have been desert-like, drying up the shallow seas and creating the salt deposits. A Well Watered Desert! Would you believe that the Amazon River has its own sand dunes? Echogrammes of the river bed below the mouth of the Rio Negro show giant sand dunes as long as 600 meters (2000 feet) and up to 12 meters (39 feet) in height.

These dunes are gradually moved downstream in the same manner that wind moves sand-dunes in "true" deserts! A Bouillabaisse of Fishes. The Amazon basin is home to over 2,500 species of fish, more species than are recorded for the entire Atlantic Ocean, and some experts estimate that there may be as many as 6,000 species! These range from giant 3-meter air-breathing fish (Arapaima gigas) and river catfish weighing up to 600-700 lbs, to tiny tetras, electric eels, sting-rays, needlefish, fresh-water flying-fish, and knife-fish. The fish fauna of many river systems is poorly known, and new species are discovered yearly, even in the "better-known" areas! Many of the above "Amazon Facts" are adapted from the following sources: The Amazon. Limnology and Landscape Ecology of a Mighty Tropical River and its Basin. (1984) H. Sioli, editor. Dr. W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht (ISBN 90-6193-108-8). The Palms of the Amazon.

(1995) A. Henderson. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 362 pages. (ISBN 0-19-508311-3). Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas (1995; A. Henderson, G. Galeano and R. Bernal; Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey; ISBN 0-691-08537-4) A Neotropical Companion. 2nd Ed. (1997) J. C. Kricher. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 451 pages. (ISBN 0-691-04433-3 See the Recommended Reading page for many more great sources of information. Learn About the Six Amazon River Basin Countries Share By Amanda Briney The Amazon River is the second longest river (it is just shorter than the Nile River in Egypt ) in the world and it has the largest watershed or drainage basin as well as the most tributaries of any river in the world. For reference, a watershed is defined as the area of land that releases its water into a river.

This entire area is often referred to as the Amazon Basin. The Amazon River begins with streams in the Andes Mountains in Peru and flows into the Atlantic Ocean about 4,000 miles (6,437 km) away. The Amazon River and its watershed encompass an area of 2,720,000 square miles (7,050,000 sq km). This area includes the largest tropical rainforest in the world - the Amazon Rainforest . In addition parts of the Amazon Basin also include grassland and savannah landscapes. As a result, this area is some of the least developed and most biodiverse in the world. Along its length, the Amazon River flows through three countries and its basin includes three more. continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge The following is a list of these six countries that have claims to the Amazon region arranged by their area. For reference, their capitals and populations have also been included. All information was obtained from the CIA World Factbook .

• Area: 3,287,612 square miles (8,514,877 sq km) • Capital: Brasilia Rivers of Life: River Profile - The Amazon The Amazon River is the second longest river in the world, and the largest in terms of the size of its watershed, the number of tributaries, and the volume of water discharged into the sea. No bridge crosses the river along its entire length. The Amazon and its tributaries flow through the countries of Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Brazil before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean 6, 437 kilometers (4,000 miles) from the Amazon's headwaters high in the Andes mountains of Peru. This huge watershed includes the largest tropical rainforest in the world as well as areas of dry grassland, or savannah. The rainforest's climate has heavy rainfalls and continuous high temperatures. These forests are so huge that scientists believe they actually help control the world's climate in important ways. Destruction of the forests as settlers clear the land for farming and companies harvest trees for lumber is believed to be contributing to the problem of global warming.

The Amazon is home to a variety of Indian cultures who have a great deal of knowledge about the rich and complex rainforest environment. As settlement brings changes to the forest, these cultural groups are also changing, and the lessons they have gained through thousands of years of living within the rainforest are in danger of being lost. Scientists are trying to learn from the Amazon's native peoples about the amazing variety of rainforest plants and animals before they become extinct. Rainforest plants and animals may hold cures to diseases and provide information and materials valuable to people around the world. Click on the map to see a larger version. The above photo and larger map are courtesy of the Science Museum of Minnesota and their Greatest Places program. Want to learn more about the Amazon River? Click here for an interesting web page and trivia questions to test your knowledge!! We have a special guest for your study of the Amazon River Where Does the Amazon River Begin? Where Does the Amazon River Begin? Five different tributaries have been designated as the source of the Amazon River through the centuries. A new study argues for yet another. View Images Experts have long argued over the origin of the Amazon River, seen here in the Loreto region of Peru.

Radius Images / Alamy The origin of the world's largest river—by volume—has been surprisingly hard to pin down. Explorers and scientists have argued over where to locate the start of the Amazon River since at least the mid-1600s, with no fewer than five rivers in southwestern Peru given the honor over the years. Related Content Anchoring Bangladesh's Ancient Boatbuilding Technology Now the authors of a study published in the journal Area say they've located the mighty river's true source: the Mantaro River in southwestern Peru. If they're right, their discovery would add 47 to 57 miles (75 to 92 kilometers) to the length of the Amazon, currently measured at about 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers) by the U.S. Geological Survey . Using six different methods of measurement—including GPS tracking data and satellite images— professional kayaker James Contos and his team, funded in part by a grant from the National Geographic Society, determined that the Mantaro River is about 10 percent longer than the Apurímac River, which has been considered the Amazon's source since 1971.

One reason the Mantaro may have been overlooked, say Contos and his anthropologist co-author Nicholas Tripcevich of the University of California, Berkeley: A twisting bend, or kink, in the river's lower half makes it look much shorter than it really is. View Images Amazon Express expedition leader West Hansen paddles the Mantaro River, a possible source of the Amazon. PHOTOGRAPH BY ERICH SCHLEGEL But whether geographers accept the claim of Mantaro as the Amazon's true origin depends on which definition of a river's source they choose to apply: Is it the farthest point upstream that provides the largest volume of water, or is it the most distant point up the longest tributary in the river's drainage basin? The current internationally accepted definition is the most distant point of a river's longest tributary that flows continuously. In their study, Contos and Tripcevich argue that the length of a tributary should trump whether it flows year-round. Too Many Beginnings? Throughout the 1700s, the Marañón River in northern Peru held the distinction of being the Amazon's source, says Andrew Johnston , a geographer with the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

That's because the Marañón held the largest volume of flowing water compared to other tributaries flowing into the Amazon. The Ucayali River—a lower extension of the Apurímac River—took over as the designated source for awhile because it was considered the longest tributary flowing into the Amazon. Then, in 1971, a National Geographic expedition led by Loren McIntyre identified the snow-capped peak of Mismi (map) as the headwaters of the Apurímac River and the ultimate source of the Amazon. A follow-up National Geographic expedition in 2000 that included Johnston, further confirmed Lake Ticlla Cocha at the base of Mismi as the headwaters and the Apurímac as the longest upstream extension of the Amazon River. View Images MAGGIE SMITH, NG STAFF.

SOURCES: SIERRARIOS; WRI; WWF A Question of Flow The trouble with Contos and Tripcevich's claim of overturning this long-held view, say some geographers, is that the Mantaro River runs dry for about five months of the year, when the Tablachaca dam, built in 1974, diverts its flow around its kink, leaving the loop devoid of water. Continuously flowing water is important in determining the true source of a river, says Juan Valdés , the geographer at National Geographic. "You can have the longest tributary, but if it doesn't have continuous flow, then it's a moot point." Mantaro does not have water flowing through its channels year-round, says Valdés. (See: "Photos: 'Alarming' Amazon Drought—River Hits New Low." ) But the study's authors propose that short-term changes in flow or man-made alterations to a river's natural course should not be a deal-breaker in determining the source of a river. The most distant source should be defined as the farthest point "from which a drop of rain will make its way to the river's mouth"—regardless of whether it flows continuously.

By that measure, they assert, the Mantaro is the most distant source. The Smithsonian's Johnston, even though he was on the expedition that confirmed the primacy of the Apurímac, thinks the new study provides a fresh perspective. "Assuming the measurements stand up to scrutiny, yes, I think the Mantaro could be considered a new source of the Amazon," he says, but not "the source." When water flows through the Mantaro, the river "probably has a greater flow distance than any other Amazon tributary," Johnston says. But when the Mantaro is dry, "the Apurímac is once again the place where water flows the greatest distance into the Amazon." View Images Amazon floodplain forests | WWF Underwater forests? Every year, over 250,000 km2 of Amazon floodplain forests are covered by water that overflows from rivers. This annual phenomenon forms the most extensive system of riverine flooded forests on Earth - a drastic revolution in the landscape that is vital for the efficient functioning of the Amazon River Basin .

Floodplain forests represent between 3-4% of the Amazon Basin area and are highly productive riverside areas that are flooded during the rainy season, and which receive rich sediment from the Andes Mountains. These factors have resulted in the evolution of ecosystems and habitats with a high number of species. They have also lead to a thriving economic activity of riverine communities. There are three types of flooded forests; Varzea forests which are feb by muddy rivers, Igapo forests located in blackwater and clearwater tributaries, and tidal forest located in the estuary. Why does flooding occur? Heavy seasonal rainfall, concentrated in the Eastern Andes and the Northwest area of the Basin, are responsible for the river level fluctuations throughout the year. Because of the magnitude of the Amazon Basin and the uneven distribution of the seasonal rainfall, different parts of the river system inundate at different times and the overall floods last longer than would be the case if temporal distribution of precipitation were the same throughout the basin. Increased rainfall translates into increase discharge of the rivers. Because the Amazon Basin is mostly flat and there is more water than the waterways can contain, the water spills outside the riverbanks and into the low-lying floodplains.

As the water spills over from the rivers, new bodies of water are created, such as ponds and oxbow lakes. Flooded areas extend about 20 km from the river banks 2 and during the wet season, these may rise between 7.5 m and 15 m. For a Healthy freshwater ecosystems! Keep the Amazon alive! Where flooding happens Because of its vast area, not all parts of the Amazon Basin are subject to flooding at the same time. Generally, flooding occurs in the northern Amazon Basin (above the Equator) while floods are receding in the basin's southern part (below the Equator). Other parts can even experience two floods per year, which are different in intensity. As the Amazon Basin floodwaters drain into the Atlantic Ocean, the water levels begin to fall and the forests "rise" again from the water. Wildlife reclaims its boundaries, and intense heat returns. The importance of the Amazon floodplain forest Flooding radically alters the forest landscape and is vital in dispersing sediment and in fertilizing the varzea. Heavy silt loads, primarily from the Andes, are a major factor in enriching soil for cultivation.

As the waters creep over the land, the habitats that are created make it possible for aquatic organisms to navigate gallery forests (found alongside the riverbanks) and to seek food there. Tiny organisms called zooplankton are consumed by fish and reproduction rate is highest during high water. When the flood recedes, zooplankton is carried by the flow and is distributed to many rivers, providing a much needed food base for a range of aquatic wildlife. 3 Floodplain forests, subject of unwanted attention Floodplain forests are among the most threatened of all ecosystems in South America due to logging and forest clearing. Intensive logging and selective exploitation of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) and virola (Virola surinamensis) are accelerating deforestation. In Peru, it is oil exploitaition activities that pose the gravest threat to floodplain forests. Varzea areas are threatened by cattle ranching and the increase in the number of introduced water buffalo. In addition, over-exploitation of fisheries to supply growing urban centres in the region has the potential to cause the extinction of prized species and the loss of subsistence for traditional riverine dwellers.

The sustainability of these fisheries is tremendously important for the entire population of the Amazon, for whom fish are an essential part of their diet and culture. Moreover, badly planned damming could profoundly alter the beneficial aspects of flooding, disrupting many crucial ecological relationships. 4 ------------------------------------------------ Unique Facts About South & Central America: : The Amazon River Unique Facts- South America The Amazon River The Amazon River (occasionally River Amazon; Spanish: Río Amazonas, Portuguese: Rio Amazonas) of South America is one of the longest two rivers on Earth, the Nile River in Africa being the other. The Amazon has by far the greatest total flow of any river, carrying more than the Mississippi, Nile, and Yangtze rivers combined. It also has the largest drainage area of any river system. It may be correctly stated that the Nile is the longest river, while the Amazon is the strongest. The quantity of fresh water released to the Atlantic Ocean is enormous: 184,000 m³ per second (6.5 million ft³/s) in the rainy season. Indeed, the Amazon is responsible for a fifth of the total volume of fresh water entering the oceans worldwide.

It is said that offshore of the mouth of the Amazon potable water can be drawn from the ocean while still out of sight of the coastline, and the salinity of the ocean is notably lower a hundred miles out to sea. The main river (which is usually between one and six miles wide) is navigable for large ocean steamers to Manaus. Smaller ocean vessels of 3,000 tons and 5.5 m (18 ft) draft can reach as far as Iquitos, 3,700 km (2,300 miles) from the sea. Smaller riverboats can reach 780 km (486 mi) higher as far as Achual Point. Beyond that, small boats frequently ascend to the Pongo de Manseriche, just above Achual Point. Mouth of the Amazon seen from space, looking south.(Photo courtesy of NASA) The Amazon drains an area of some 6,915,000km² (2,722,000 mile²), or some 40 percent of South America. It gathers its waters from 5 degrees north latitude to 20 degrees south latitude.

Its most remote sources are found on the inter-Andean plateau, just a short distance from the Pacific Ocean; and, after a course of about 7,200 km (4,800 mi) through the interior of Peru and across Brazil, it enters the Atlantic Ocean at the equator. The ultimate source of the Amazon has only recently been firmly established as a stream on a 5,597 metre (18,363 ft) peak called Nevado Mismi in the Peruvian Andes, roughly 160 km (100 miles) N.N.E. of Lima. The mountain was first suggested as the source in 1971 but this was not confirmed until 2001. The stream from Nevado Mismi flows into Lake Lauricocha and then the Apurímac River. The Apurímac is a tributary of the Ucayali, which joins the Marañón to form the Amazon proper. Below its confluence with the Huallaga, the river leaves Andean terrain and is instead surrounded by flood plain.

From this point to the Ucayali, some 2,400 km (1,500 mi), the forested banks are just out of water, and are inundated long before the river attains its maximum flood-line. The low river banks are interrupted by only a few hills, and the river enters the enormous Amazon Rainforest. Seasonal rains give rise to extensive floods along the course of the Amazon and its tributaries. The average depth of the river in the height of the rainy season is 40 m (120 ft) and the average width can be nearly twenty-five miles. It starts to rise in November, and increases in volume until June, then falls until the end of October. The rise of the Negro branch is not synchronous; the rainy season does not commence in its valley until February or March. By June it is full, and then it begins to fall with the Amazon. The Madeira rises and falls two months earlier than the Amazon. Manaus, the largest city on the Amazon, as seen from a NASA satellite image, surrounded by the muddy Amazon River and the dark Negro River.

The abundance of water in the Amazon basin is due to the fact that much of this lies in the region below the Intertropical convergence zone, where rainfall is at a maximum. Also, the basin lies in the Trade Wind zone, where moisture from the Atlantic is pushed westwards, and eventually forced to rise over the Andes, the second tallest mountain range on Earth, where the moist air cools and precipitates water. This combination creates more rainfall over a large river basin than anywhere else on the planet. In the rainy season, the Amazon inundates the country throughout its course to the extent of several hundred thousand square miles, covering the flood-plain, called vargem. The flood-levels are, in some places, from 12 to 15 m (40 to 50 ft) higher than levels during the dry season. During the flood, the level at Iquitos is 6 m (20 ft); at Teffe, it is 15 m (45 ft); near Obidos, 11 m (35 ft); and at Para, 4 m (12 ft), above the low-water extreme seen during the dry season.

Before the conquest of South America, the Río de las Amazonas had no general name; instead, indigenous peoples had names for the sections of the river they occupied, such as Paranaguazu, Guyerma, Solimões and others. In the year 1500, Vicente Yañez Pinzon, in command of a Spanish expedition, became the first European to explore the river, exploring its mouth when he discovered that the ocean off the shore was fresh water. Pinzon called the river the Rio Santa Maria de la Mar Dulce, which soon became abbreviated to Mar Dulce, and for some years, after 1502, it was known as the Rio Grande. Pinzon's companions called the river El Río Marañón. The word Marañón is thought by some to be of indigenous origin. This idea was first stated in a letter from Peter Martyr to Lope Hurtado de Mendoza in 1513.

However, the word may also be derived from the Spanish word "maraña" — meaning a tangle, a snarl, which well represents the bewildering difficulties which the earlier explorers met in navigating not only the entrance to the Amazon, but the whole island-bordered, river-cut and indented coast of what is now the Brazilian state of Maranhão. The name Amazon arises from a battle which Francisco de Orellana had with a tribe of Tapuyas where the women of the tribe fought alongside the men, as was the custom among the entire tribe. Orellana derived the name Amazonas from the ancient Amazons of Asia and Africa described by Herodotus and Diodorus. Four centuries after the discovery of the Amazon river, the total cultivated area in its basin was probably less than 25 square miles (65 km²), excluding the limited and rudely cultivated areas among the mountains at its extreme headwaters. This situation changed dramatically during the 20th century. Wary of foreign exploitation of the nation's resources, Brazilian governments in the 1940s set out to develop the interior, away from the seaboard where foreigners owned large tracts of land.

The original architect of this expansion was President Getúlio Vargas, the demand for rubber from the Allied forces in World War II providing funding for the drive. Amazon River Interior (photo courtesy NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics) The construction of the new capital Brasilia in the interior in 1960 also contributed to the opening up of the Amazon basin. A large scale colonization program saw families from north-eastern Brazil relocated to the forests, encouraged by promises of cheap land. Many settlements grew along the road from Brasilia to Belem, but rainforest soil proved difficult to cultivate. Still, long-term development plans continued. Roads were cut through the forests, and in 1970, the work on Trans-Amazon highway network began. The network's three pioneering highways were completed within ten years, connecting all the major cities of the Brazilian Amazon interior. Cattle farming became a major impetus in deforestation, with military governments in the 1960s and 1970s heavily subsidising the creation of large ranches.

By the 1980s the rate of destruction of the rainforest was dizzying, and it is estimated that over a fifth of the total area of the rainforest has now been clearcut. The preservation of the remaining forest is becoming an ever more prominent concern.

Question: In which country does the Amazon River rise?
Answer: PERU